“A kitten is the delight of a household. Where there is one of those little creatures,
a play is being performed all day long by an incomparable actor.”
– Champfleury
CatVideoFest 2023 was fantastic – or should I say meowtastic – that The Frida had an encore Sunday showing. The film was a compilation of owners with adorable cats and kittens. Oscilloscope Laboratories compiled 70 minutes’ worth of feline content into one film for all cat lovers to enjoy. Cinematographer Will Braden watched close to 15,000 cat videos and selected 100 videos for this movie. Braden is also the curator of the endearing Henri, le Chat Noir videos. This film is shown in select theaters for a limited time and an amazing cause.
CatVideoFest is the world’s number one cat video festival, where the filmmakers bring wonderful and wholesome cat content to your local theater. A portion of the proceeds from each movie event is donated to local animal shelters and rescues. This organization is passionate about fundraising for cats in need and bringing global awareness. They also donate to animal rescues overseas. The Frida will also be donating a portion of the profits from this special event to the OCSP Cat Rescue based in Fountain Valley, California.
The best part of CatVideoFest 2023 is that it is family-friendly and for all ages. This movie gives you a healthy dose of cute aggression and serotonin. If you are not familiar with cute aggression, it is the feeling that people get when they see something cute like a cat or a baby. Cuteness aggression causes us to want to squish or pinch something adorable without causing it harm. It is a perfectly normal response to seeing anything that has tiny toe beans and whiskers. How can one resist the urge to pet a cat?
A lot of the content in the film may seem familiar if you are also a cat video connoisseur and cat “pawrent” like myself. There are back-to-back video submissions from TikTok, YouTube, and more. Many of the videos were also original submissions that were sent by cat pawrents from all over the world. It is beautiful to see the love that people have for their pets and their desire to share that love on the big screen. However, I think it is even more amazing to see moviegoers come together for their mutual love for cats.
If you are having a bad day, you simply cannot go wrong with going to see this captivating movie. Watching kittens booping each other on the head or crashing into a fish tank will have you laughing out loud. Seeing cats chase each other all over the house was almost like watching a live-action Tom and Jerry but without the mice. The crowd never ceased to express their adoration for the cute furry creatures that brought them so much joy throughout the event. There were endless “aww” moments and young audience members meowing in response to the movie.
This film is like a feature-length version of America’s Funniest Home Videos, which often showed hilarious and silly cat videos. Cat owners were also shown making creative remixes with their vocal cats and adding their original spin on making songs. One of my favorite videos was by Instagram user hirokisan79, who often makes piano duets with cats. I was also introduced to the music video called Cuteness Aggression by Anthony Vincent. He made a hilarious metal song about his cat, and I recommend listening to it.
If you have not seen this movie already, I cannot suggest it enough because it is worth watching. What I loved about this movie is that there were categories for different videos. A few of them included adventure, music, comedy, and so forth. There was a variety of cats, from orange tabbies to bushy-tailed Maine Coons, providing the audience with endless entertainment for all to watch. It was so much fun watching kitties hitching rides on Roombas or on the backs of horses. You never know what you are going to get with this engaging lineup of cat videos.